Blog
The “dog days of summer” and a blog hiatus
It’s the time of year here in Canada that my mother and grandmothers called the "dog days of summer." Between late July and early August, life slows. Road traffic isn’t as heavy. Email volume is lighter. Even social media engagement drops as life outdoors is more...
Changing my sleep & changing my life
Some of us, like Tech Guy and Floppy Ears, can sleep anytime, anywhere. That's not me. However, in the past month, I’ve slept better than I have in years. While I may never be a consistently “good sleeper,” I’m on track to becoming a “better” one. Sleep restriction...
Recipe from “The Sweetheart Locket,” a book tour & an unexpected angel
Instead of a regular blog post today, I have several bits of news to share, as well as an anecdote about an unexpected angel who brightened my day when I needed it. Make a cake featured in the The Sweetheart Locket Earlier this week, I wrote a post for Novel Noshing,...
From soya beans and a septic system to swatting mosquitoes in a schoolhouse: Connecting with my rural roots
There was an election in my Canadian province last week and I worked at a polling station to help the democratic process run smoothly. As well as a fun day meeting new people, it was also a journey into my own past and Canadian rural life. Smartphones, soya beans and...
Living and writing about mothers and daughters
Before English Rose was born, I didn’t know whether I was having a boy or a girl. While I’d have loved a son as much as a daughter, part of me was relieved when the doctor announced the baby was a girl. As an only child with four girl cousins, I knew little about...
Back to bicycling..and a special 0.99 cent/pence deal on ‘The Sweetheart Locket’
As some of you know, I bought a bicycle in March, my first one in over twenty years. However, owing to a long and harsh winter, including snow in the last week of April, I wasn’t able to ride my new bike until last weekend. Now, though, I’m trying to go for a short...
Life lessons from fiction
In her reader Facebook group, The Petal Garden, author friend Rosey Lee posts uplifting, feel-good content that brightens my day and makes me think too. One of Rosey's recent posts led me to reflect about life lessons and I realized many of mine have come from reading...
A sale, a book scene & ‘one of those weeks’
It’s been 'one of those weeks' for me. As such, this blog post is one of short updates but, I hope, some of you also find sweet. Ebook sale on The Sweetheart Locket First, I want to let my UK readers know that for a limited time the Kindle edition of The Sweetheart...
My year to ‘grow’: Books, a name & living my word for 2022
Regular blog readers know each year I choose a word to live by. This year my word is ‘grow.’ From January to March, here’s how I ‘grew.’ Writing growth In the last three months, I’ve had two new books published, Montana Reunion from Harlequin Heartwarming and The...

Photo by Robin Spencer, Spencer Studio